Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Should blogging be rewarded?

Brad DeLong writes about academic blogging in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Are our deans impressed? Not so far, but they should be.

Brad is surely right that most deans are not impressed. In fact, some may be put off by it: "Why is he wasting his time on that activity?"

I have long thought that academia rewards too narrow a range of activities. At research universities, even teaching is given inadequate weight. I will fight for the good teachers before I fight for the bloggers.

My prediction: Brad will have to wait a long time before blogging is going to earn him a raise.

About Me

I am the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University, where I teach introductory economics (ec 10). I use this blog to keep in touch with my current and former students. Teachers and students at other schools, as well as others interested in economic issues, are welcome to use this resource.